Grants
Horizon Health Literacy Grant 2011
Literacy Volunteers of New Jersey Receives $25,000 Grant from The Walmart Foundation to Improve Life Skills and Job Readiness
METUCHEN, NJ - Literacy Volunteers of New Jersey received a grant of $25,000 from The Walmart Foundation provide materials and training to tutors who will help unemployed adults improve their life skills and job readiness.
LVNJ’s Executive Director Jessica Tomkins stated that “Limited basic literacy skills prevent unemployed and underemployed adults from becoming active participants in the workforce. Adults join Literacy Volunteers programs to improve their literacy skills so they can get a job, get a better job, and improve their job skills. We are so pleased to be able to support their efforts through this project.”
Literacy Volunteers of New Jersey is the only statewide, nongovernmental volunteer-based literacy organization in New Jersey. Based in Metuchen, the agency provides professional development, technical assistance, training, financial support and other services to a network of 21 community-based organizations in 19 counties. Literacy Volunteers programs train community volunteers to tutor adults, giving them the opportunity to improve their basic skills, occupational knowledge, and the self-confidence needed for employment.
Literacy Volunteers of New Jersey Receives $4,000 Grant from Verizon to Enhance and Promote Literacy Initiatives
Customers’ ‘Check into Literacy’ Donations Support Local Efforts
NEWARK, N.J. – A dollar a month may not seem like much, but it can go a long way to improving literacy skills in state and giving people the opportunity to succeed.
Thanks to Verizon telephone customers in New Jersey who participated in Verizon’s innovative Check Into Literacy Program, Literacy Volunteers of New Jersey (LVNJ) received a $4,000 grant to support its literacy programs. The funds will be used to pilot the new reading software, Think 60, with basic literacy students studying at LVNJ member program, the Jersey City Library Literacy Program.
The program allows Verizon landline telephone customers to support literacy by checking a box on their monthly phone bills to make a $1 tax-deductible donation to promote literacy. Verizon then distributes these donations to local literacy organizations that serve the individual states the customers live in.
“We’re proud to work hand in hand with our customers on this critically important literacy initiative,” said Dennis Bone, president of Verizon New Jersey. “Together we’re helping citizens in New Jersey, learn and be successful contributors to our state and nation as a whole.”
The Verizon Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Verizon Communications, supports the advancement of literacy and K-12 education through its free educational website, Verizon Thinkfinity (www.thinkfinity.org), and fosters awareness and prevention of domestic violence. In 2009, the Verizon Foundation awarded $67.9 million in grants to nonprofit agencies in the U.S. and abroad. It also matched the charitable donations of Verizon employees and retirees, resulting in $26.1 million in combined contributions to nonprofits. Through Verizon Volunteers, one of the nation’s largest employee volunteer programs, Verizon employees and retirees have volunteered more than 5 million hours of community service since 2000. For more information on the foundation, visit www.verizonfoundation.org.
Literacy Volunteers of New Jersey Receives $11,000 Grant from The Horizon Foundation to Improve Health Literacy Skills
METUCHEN, NJ - The Horizon Foundation for New Jersey recently announced its third round of grants for 2011, awarding $396,000 to 23 organizations. The Horizon Foundation for New Jersey supports charitable organizations that promote health and the arts throughout New Jersey.
“We are proud to support these 23 organizations and the noble goals they are working very hard to achieve,” said Robert A. Marino, chairman of the board of directors of the foundation. “We recognize how these organizations are making a positive difference in the health and quality of life of individuals throughout New Jersey.”
Literacy Volunteers of New Jersey in Metuchen received a grant of $11,000 to support health literacy workshops for adults, “Reading Medicine Labels,” as part of its Improving Health Literacy Skills of Low Literate Adults Project. The workshops are designed to increase understanding of medications, their different forms and how to read labels. The grant also provides for a volunteer train-the trainer session, community outreach and a health literacy session for workshop leaders.
